Added a couple of details to my post as I realized that even while he is in his own head, people can still see what he is doing even if Ryuuichi himself doesn't realize what he is doing.
I.E. how he suddenly found a glass of water in his hands without being aware of himself taking it.
Bjyerlfal City || Camphor’s Lab: Reception Area || Time: Morning
‘You took this job, despite being unable to see?’
Another set of approaching footsteps followed by another voice, once again, makes Ryuuichi slightly flinch in his seat once again. Just how many people were coming up to him? Normally, this would make him wonder if he is the one actually being talked too, but Ryuuichi can't deny those particular words. Yet the addition of this new, louder voice makes his fist clench a bit more as he felt his present migraine worsen.
‘Niiice. Surviving, despite the circumstances thrust upon you. Making the most of it. I respect it, my dude!’
Ryuuichi doesn't even get much time to contemplate or try to consider everything this high energy individual says before yet another person shows up.
‘Um. I am Victor Gallagher. Where are you from, and have you see- er, heard of anything cool happening around there lately?’
This fourth person sounds very close to the third person, yet Ryuuichi hadn't even heard them approach at all. The sudden fourth, strange voice makes him visibly jump up a bit as his head turns in that direction. It sounds almost like two people are talking over one another.
Already he had forgotten what that third person said earlier. Something about surviving? Ruminating over those words, Ryuuichi's hand can't help but clench a bit more around the extendable cane. The only thing he can do, yet in this situation he is wondering if he can even do that.
That word goes off in his head again. Survive. Despite the people looking at and talking to him, that word makes him retreat into his head as his hand moves from that cane up to the center of his chest, clenching at something there. The hand isn't over his heart, so it's unclear why or what he is grasping at other than his jacket. A motion that is easily noticeable to the three standing around him, yet Ryuuichi doesn't consider that.
"Why... how... did I even... do that... survive."
He clenches more tightly at that spot on his jacket. His head lowers more as his hand more tightly clenches the left side of his head. The migraine piles on more pain like the rocks of that day. By this point he misses whatever it is that the gentler of the four voices around him said to the one who commented on him being blind.
"Why... do--"
He finds in his hands suddenly an object. Glass. Cool to the touch due to the cool liquid in it. It's this sensation that pulls him out of his head, yet he returns to reality only to be confused. How or when had he put his hands out? Who put this cup in his hands?
To those outside of Ryuuichi's head, upon Yuu offering the cup of water to Ryuuichi he had just put out his hands in a very stiff manner towards Yuu, allowing the purple haired boy to easily put the cup into those outstretched hands. He had put out his hands right as the words about the water were being said to him.
"--My name's Lina, and its good to meet you."
The sudden introduction returns him to reality as he flinches slightly, almost making the water spill from the cup in the process. Thankfully, nothing spills out. With his hands on the cup, and no longer rubbing his head, he only feels worse. Carefully, as if handling an egg, his slightly shaking hands place the cup between his legs to temporarily hold it. He reaches into his jacket pocket and, from within, removes what seems to be a small pill bottle. One hand holds it while the other traces over its lid.
Carefully opening it, he reaches inside and feels at the tablets within before pulling out four as they sit in his open palm. The thumb of that hand traces carefully over each one resting in its palm to confirm how many are there. Words from his doctor spoke during his last appointment play in his mind.
"You need to take it properly, or else I--"
A surge of pain cuts the words off as his hand holding the tablets trembles a bit while his hand holding the pill bottle clenches tightly around it. Ryuuichi doesn't want to take them, yet he has to. He is more afraid of failing this job than he is of feeling whatever those non-existent lights are.
So after putting the pills into his mouth and then closing the bottle; returning it to his jacket pocket allows him to gently retrieve the cup of water and chug down its contents.
A few coughs escape from him as a result of drinking down the water way too fast. "S... S-Sorry for... making you do that... for me" sputters Ryuuichi softly in his still slightly raspy voice in reference to being brought the water. He continues to hold the cup now, not sure where to put it or what to do with it. Despite both the water and the medicine, his voice still doesn't really sound all that good.
He tries to now remember what everyone said before to reply. So another long silence passes.
"I-I'm... Ryuuichi. I'm f-from... here and I can't really er... see... anything" he begins, stumbling over his words as he tries to remember what was said by all of these people. He remembers, that Victor person asking him about where he is from and if he had seen anything cool, yet he had perhaps forgotten the part where Victor corrected himself. "It's... nice to umm... meet you... four" he adds to finish off this, in his opinion, disaster of a self introduction. Ryuuichi doesn't really remember if that third person had mentioned their name and is too afraid of asking recklessly for a name that he should have been paying attention to.
The same with the second person who mentioned the water. So he decides to just mention all four of these people who have congregated around him.
Thanks to the water and medicine, he already is looking a little better. His breathing has become a bit steadier now and he is no longer rubbing his head. He is still holding the empty cup though in both hands quite carefully, making sure it stays steadily held.
He still is quite pale though, but that is more or less due to his natural complexion than anything.
Ryuuichi Kashima
Pokémon N/A
Money 000.001.000P
Camper Bag
Potion [x1]
White Collapsible Cane First Aid Kit Pain Medication Camping Kit Thrift Store Clothes x5
Victor: "That’s like living your entire life without any light, right?" Ryuuichi: "... Yes." Victor: "Or colors?" Ryuuichi: "... Yes." Victor: "Or shapes?!" Ryuuichhi: "... ... Yes." Victor: "Or--" *Yuu dropkicks Victor into the wall* Ryuuichi: "... W-What was that noise?" Lina: "Nothing important. let's get you that drink."
Now I'm just imagining a protection detail for this blind boi.
Only when his starter eventually evolves into Gardevoir it becomes less about "Let's protect him" and more "Let's make sure no one tries to do anything to him or his Gardevoir is gonna be dropping black holes on people"
It never occurred to me that this would happen but Toshi is the kind of mixture of dense and polite that would make any form of subtlety fairly ineffective.
Believe it or not, the creators of Johnny Bravo have confirmed that he does... get action off screen. His successful dates are never shown because those wouldn't be as funny or interesting as the rejection, which is the focus of the show.
Added a few more physical details about Ryuuichi (and his current state) to my post since both Yuu and Lina are looking at him far more closely now than someone just looking at him from a distance.
The added part is in italics.
EDIT: I realized I meant to include them in my original post, but had left them out.
Bjyerlfal City || Camphor’s Lab: Reception Area || Time: Morning
"There's a restroom over... there I believe if you want to get some wa-,"
Before the girl talking to him can reply, a new voice suddenly appears. Just like the girl's voice before when she first talked to him, this new voice also makes Ryuuichi flinch once again. Even though it had happened moments ago, the act of someone suddenly coming up to him and talking out of the blue will never stop being a bit of a shock to him.
If those "lights" are to be believed and not a sign of him going crazy, then there are... a lot of people / Pokemon in the room.
Thankfully, the pain from his current migraine and nausea is preventing them from returning by making it nearly impossible for him to focus properly. As painful as it is, Ryuuichi can't help but want them to stick around forever.
"Since everyone's here, I'll go see if the professor is ready so we can get everyone on their way. I'll be back in a few minutes, hopefully."
He recognizes that voice. It is the same one from that rather harsh, but completely correct email. The one that actually approved of his application. It also reminds him with an additional sting to the left side of his head that he has a job to try and, hopefully, not fail at.
"Uhm, look. How about you stay here and chat with the kid while I go get some water for him. I'm not much of a conversationalist after all."
Some kind of... buzz? Is that a Pokemon or someone's phone?
"... you're not either Vivi."
Another buzz.
"Anyways, does that sound good?"
Any curiosity about how many people or Pokemon are currently crowding around him is immediately outweighed by the throbbing pain to the left side of his head, which makes him clench it a bit tighter. Sadly the back and forth conversation happening right around him is also just making it worse and making it harder and harder to want to keep staying here.
A double edged sword in how it keeps the "lights" at bay while further piling more into his skull.
"Thank you, though I've also got a bottle with fresh water in it. Can see if he's ok with sipping from it until you're back, perhaps, unless he wants tap water."
At least it isn't a new voice. This meant that, as far as Ryuuichi can tell even in his current state, two people and one Pokemon / phone are around him. He doesn't need the "lights" to notice that. He doesn't want them back.
Yet Ryuuichi can't figure out what to say at all or how to get into this back and forth conversation that is happening right in his ears. It may have been a slow conversation to others, yet to Ryuuichi its moving at a mile a minute.
"Hey. Got some fresh, cool water here in this bottle. You can sip on it for now until someone gets back with a cup of water if you want to, but no rush. We can even try to get away from the crowd, if you need some breathing room."
As Lina takes a closer look at Ryuuichi's face, it is possible to see a few things.
The boy's face is quite pale and clammy. His hair completely covers his eyes, yet the eyepatch is visible due to the hand currently rubbing the left side of his head. Glimpses of a dull, listless light blue eye can be seen in the occasional gap in his hair made by the jostling of his hair through the rubbing of the left side of his head. His hair looks very poorly done. Split ends, tangles, and all sorts of other things plague his messy blonde locks.
If anyone were to a look a bit more past his head and face its easy to see that his black jacket, despite how tall he seems, looks like its a couple sizes too big on his very lithe frame. The large collar of the jacket seems to look a bit large around his thin neck.
Even his hands only halfway come out of the sleeves. His clothes also look rather old and worn out at a closer glance. Its clear that either he doesn't believe in clothes shopping or comes from a place that can't really afford nicer clothes.
His breathing is still a bit on the lower, spaced out side as he is still fighting the urge to throw up right in the lobby. This is the first time he has "felt" so many "lights" after all.
Water. "Um..." he stammers, stopping. A long, five second pause is how long it takes for Ryuuichi to formulate the next batch of poorly and awkwardly spoken words as his current state distracts him quite heavily. "T...That sounds expensive... t-tap water is... fine." He can't figure out how else to turn down the offer. In the five long seconds he took, those are the only words that his brain is able to formulate in response.
As nice as that cold water sounds, he can't continue to be a liability, as Camphor had put it, and leech off of others like a burden.
Be it his parents or strangers he just met.
"And well... I... I can stay right here. I d-don't want to... hit someone..." he begins, his clenched fist absentmindedly grasping at something that is next to him on the couch cushion he is currently sitting on, "with my cane" is how he finishes that statement.
Now grasped in the clenched fist that isn't rubbing the left side of his head is what seems to be a forearm length, collapsible cane or baton of some kind. The entire length of it is white, with the exception of the rather bright red tip of it. The bottle being held up to his face also elicits no reaction from Ryuuichi. He doesn't turn or move his head at all to face it in any capacity.
"I'm umm... b--" his quiet voice chokes on the one word out of many that reminds him of his horrible actions the most."blind... after all" is what still manages to let out anyway despite this. He doesn’t want to, yet he has to explain why he has this weird cane and how he could possibly accidentally hit someone with it.
Although part of him does want to go that bathroom and just stay there, the fear of accidentally smacking someone in the shin or stabbing their toes keeps him firmly rooted to the couch. Such actions perhaps would only cause Camphor to be even madder at him and make her fire him on the spot. This is one of the main reasons why he has not moved from this couch for the entire time since he has gotten here, having gotten here even before Remi, Nevine, Laurel, and Svein.
Ryuuichi Kashima
Pokémon N/A
Money 000.001.000P
Camper Bag
Potion [x1]
White Collapsible Cane First Aid Kit Pain Medication Camping Kit Thrift Store Clothes x5
There we go, fixed it. A rather lazy fix, but fixed nontheless. I could've included Yuu's interaction with Ryuuichi too, but since Savo's post came aftter mine - and thus is technically later in the chronological order of events - I decided that Tilly just missed seeing the lavender-haired boy stroll up and talk to him, and Lina, and instead focused on her new shiny vending machine.
Tilly misses Yuu almost making that awkward flub and thus misses being able to lord it over him for the rest of his life.
Being "The Sun" in a Persona game is like winning the reverse lotterry, in that you don't get money or a prize, you just get penalized and suffer... xD
@Ryik Very well done on the Persona-tarot readings.
Dang, that definitely describes Ryuuichi lol. Yea, him being The Sun makes far more sense.
Great list. Also do like how no one is The Tower here in this cast of characters. Looks like Victor will have to look elsewhere for his Tower Personas Pokémon.
Also wait, does Stiles being listed there imply that Stiles himself is a Social Link and that the "real" Victor is the actual, true Persona protagonist? Maybe that's why he wasn't around.
Xaltwind
BobbyJones314
RPM
Savo
Zeus23
Double
Not a Sayan
Neziul
